Timothy Tau (born Timothy Tau Hsieh ( );

traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 謝韜;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Xiè Tāo'') is a

Taiwanese-American Taiwanese Americans ( Chinese: 臺灣裔美國人; pinyin: ''Táiwān yì měiguó rén''; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ''Tâi-Bí-jîn'') are Americans of Taiwanese ancestry, including American-born descendants of migrants from the Republic of China (Taiwan) ...

writer, engineer, attorney, law professor and filmmaker. Tau won the 2011 ''

Hyphen The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes (en dash , em dash and others), which are wider, or with t ...

Asian American Writers' Workshop The Asian American Writers' Workshop (often abbreviated AAWW) is a New York–based nonprofit literary arts organization founded in 1991 to support Asian American writers, literature and community. Cofounders Curtis Chin, Christina Chiu, Marie M ...

Short Story Contest for his short story, "The Understudy", which was published in the Winter 2011 issue of ''

'' magazine, Issue No. 24, the "Survival Issue." Tau also won Second Prize in the 2010 ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' College Fiction Contest for his short story, "Land of Origin" (see the October 2010 issue of ''Playboy'' magazine). He has also directed a number of short films and music videos that have screened at various film festivals worldwide and on YouTube.

Early life and education

Tau was born as Timothy Tau Hsieh in

Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...

, to a

Taiwanese American Taiwanese Americans (traditional Chinese, Chinese: 臺灣裔美國人; pinyin: ''Táiwān yì měiguó rén''; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ''Tâi-Bí-jîn'') are Americans of Taiwanese people, Taiwanese ancestry, including American-born descendants of migrant ...

family: his father, Chung-Ta Hsieh worked as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

while his mother Kuei-Chen Hsieh née Chang worked as a

computer programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles ''software developer'' and ''software engineer'' are used for jobs that require a progr ...

. He also has a younger brother named Daniel Hsieh, a graduate of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

(Bachelor’s, Electrical Engineering) and

Santa Clara University School of Law The Santa Clara University School of Law (Santa Clara Law) is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States, in the Silicon Valley region. The School of Law was founded in 1911. Santa Cla ...

(J.D.), a

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and o ...

that works at the Australian law firm of Griffith Hack in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

.Daniel Hsieh, Griffith Hack, https://www.griffithhack.com/people/daniel-hsieh/ His paternal grandfather, Colonel Chin Hsieh (謝進) of the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force ( Chinese, 中華民國空軍), or the ROCAF; known colloquially as the Taiwanese Air Force ( Chinese, 臺灣空軍) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Air Force ...

, was a
11th Term National Army Hero Medal Recipient
specialized in Communications, leading a unit focusing on that field, and was the Co-Pilot and First Officer of the Air Force Commander in Chief Chen Jia-shang. After graduating from

Torrey Pines High School Torrey Pines High School is a high school in the North County area of San Diego, California. The school is named after the Torrey pine tree that grows in the area. Torrey Pines High School is a member of the San Dieguito Union High School Di ...

in 2001,Timothy Hsieh, Classmates.com, https://www.classmates.com/people/Timothy-Hsieh/4000177540357 Tau was educated at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(B.S.) in

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

(EECS - a joint department in Engineering at UC Berkeley) in 2004, completing the degree in just three years. He then attended Franklin Pierce Law Center (now the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law) for his 1L year and then transferred to the University of California Hastings College of Law (now

University of California College of the Law, San Francisco The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (abbreviated as UC Law SF or UC Law) is a public law school in San Francisco, California, United States. It was known as the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (a ...

or UC Law SF) where he was the staff editor and technology editor of the ''

Hastings Law Journal The ''UC Law Journal'' is the oldest law journal at the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly University of California, Hastings College of the Law). It began in 1949 in San Francisco, California as the ''Hastings ...

'', and received a J.D. in 2007.''See'' Masthead of ''

''. Vol. 58 (credited as "Timothy T. Hsieh", https://hastingslawjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/58Masthead.pdf) From 2008 to 2014, Tau pursued graduate studies at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, and received a

Master of Science in Engineering A Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) is an academic graduate degree awarded by universities in many countries. It is differentiated from a Master of Engineering (a professional degree). A MSE can require completion of a thesis and qualifi ...

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in 2010, along with a certificate in fiction from the

UCLA Extension Writers' Program UCLA Extension Writers' Program is a unit within UCLA Extension, the not-for-profit and self-supporting community outreach arm of the University of California, Los Angeles. Located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, the UCLA Extension ...

, and certificates in screenwriting as well as television writing from the Professional Programs at the

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

.Timothy T. Hsieh, A Bridge Between Copyright and Patent Law: Towards a Modern-Day Reapplication of the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act, 28 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 729 (2018), available online at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3029116UCLA School of TFT Professional Programs, Alumni News, https://professionalprograms.tft.ucla.edu/alumni-news/ (stating “Timothy Tau‘s (Screenwriting) screenplay Kaohsiung was a Quarterfinalist in the Zoetrope Screenplay contest and the Scriptapalooza Contest. His screenplay Welcome to Eden was a Quarterfinalist in the Scriptapalooza Contest as well.”) In 2017, he earned a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(LL.M.) from the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

, where he was an articles editor of the ''

Berkeley Technology Law Journal The ''Berkeley Technology Law Journal'' (BTLJ) is a law journal published at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. It started publication in Spring 1986 as the ''High Technology Law Journal'' and changed its name to BTLJ in 1996.BTL ...

.''''See'' Masthead of ''

'', Vol. 32, Issue 1, Masthead at page 9 (credited as "Tim Hsieh", https://btlj.org/data/articles2017/vol32/32_1/32_1_web.pdf) In 2024, he received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

or LL.B. degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

.Professor Timothy T. Hsieh, OCU Law, https://law.okcu.edu/people/timothy-t-hsieh/

Writing

Tau's short story "The Understudy" is a comic-surrealist story about an Asian American actor named Jack Chang struggling in Los Angeles who must deal with the sudden emergence of a mysterious new understudy named Hyde on a production of a play (

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

's ''

Rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

'') he is working on. It is told in the

second-person narrative Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

. The story was published in the Winter 2011 Issue of ''

'' magazine and won Grand Prize in the 2011 ''

'' Asian American Short Story Contest, sponsored by the Asian American Writers Workshop and the only national Pan-Asian American Writing Competition of its kind. Award-winning novelist

Porochista Khakpour Porochista Khakpour ( Persian: پوروچیستا خاکپور, born January 17, 1978) is an Iranian American novelist, essayist, and journalist. A refugee from Iran whose family fled the Iran-Iraq War and the Islamic Revolution, Khakpour grew ...

, one of the judges, called the story a "psychological thriller successfully pulled off in second person -- alone a feat worthy of mention -- and cautionary tale about what happens when you entirely live for and therefore ultimately lose everything but your art. At surface glance, it can make one think 'Chinese thespian ''

Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

'',' but the wild, brainy, dark and dazzling prose is in a league of its own."

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and 30 individuals workin ...

and award-winning novelist

Yiyun Li Yiyun Li (Chinese: 李翊雲 - ''Li Yiyun'') (born November 4, 1972) is a Chinese-born writer and professor who has lived and worked in the United States since entering graduate school. She writes exclusively in English. Her short stories and no ...

said: "Full of vibrating energy, ‘The Understudy’ is an exciting story to read; better, the excitement does not fizz off but makes a reader think afterward." The short story was also listed on the syllabus in the upper-division level English course "Reading and Writing Short Stories" (ENGE 3290) taught by Dr. Suzanne Wong at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

. Tau's short story "Land of Origin" is a love-crime and neo-noir story about a Taiwanese American professional/ex-pat named Dante Wu who lives an empty and jaded life in Los Angeles, and who goes back to

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, to get mixed up with betel nut girls (falling in love with one in the process) and a gang known as "The Heavenly Alliance." The story tracks his descent, like the Dante of The

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

and The Inferno, into the sprawling neon-lit criminal underworld of urban

. The short story won Second Prize in the 2010 Playboy College Fiction Contest. It also won Second Place in the inaugural 2015 ScreenCraft Short Story Contest, which was judged by

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winning screenwriter

Diana Ossana Diana Lynn Ossana (born August 24, 1949) is an American writer who has collaborated on Lonesome Dove series, writing screenplays, teleplays, and novels with author Larry McMurtry since they first worked together in 1992, on the semi-fictionalize ...

. The short story is also published at the ScreenCraft website. A feature screenplay adaptation of the short story entitled "Kaohsiung" also was a Quarter-Finalist in the 2017 Fifteenth Annual

Zoetrope A zoetrope is a Precursors of film#Modern era, pre-film animation device that produces the illusion of motion, by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. A zoetrope is a cylindrical variant of ...

Screenplay Contest, judged by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

. Another one of Tau's short stories entitled "One Traveler" also won the Gold Key award from the

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers is a nonprofit organization which manages the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a competition that recognizes talented young artists and writers from across the United States. Scholastic Art & Writing ...

and 2nd prize in the Samuel C. Irving Prize for American Wit and Humor, given at the

. Both "One Traveler" and "Land of Origin" were additionally finalists in the 2018 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, 2018 Faulkner – Wisdom Competition Winners, Finalists, https://faulknersociety.org/2018-competition-winners-finalists/ Tau's experimental short story "For/Most/Of" is a

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

that is published in the 2018 book ''Chrysanthemum: Voices of the Taiwanese Diaspora''. The story is split into three segments that respectively cover: (1)

Kaohsiung, Taiwan Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

in 1979 (the beginning of the

Kaohsiung Incident The Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, the Meilidao Incident, or the ''Formosa Magazine'' incident,tang was a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations that occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 10 December 1979 during Taiwa ...

or Formosa Incident); (2)

Taipei, Taiwan , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

in 2018; and (3) the high-tech hub of

Hsinchu, Taiwan Hsinchu (, ), officially Hsinchu City, is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan that is not a special municipality, with estimated 450,655 inhabitants. Hsinchu is a coastal city bordering the Taiwan ...

in the future year of 2056. Tau has also written a play entitled "Yellow Shakespeare" and developed it as part of the

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...

Writer's Institute (DHHWI) at

East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give ...

. The play concerns the discovery of a long-lost

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

play that is the first and only Shakespeare play to feature Asian characters, and is set in the same universe as his short story, "The Understudy," as it revolves around the same fictional theater company from the short story, the Exit Ghost Repertory (the name taken from a stage direction in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' and the title of a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (; March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophical ...

). A staged reading of an early version of the play was held at the DHHWI New Works Festival at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Los Angeles. In 2013, another reading of the play was staged at the DHHWI New Works Festival. In 2013, Tau also held a reading of another play entitled ''Bros/Hos/Foes'' at the DHHWI New Works Festival about two Asian American actors from different backgrounds trapped in a timeless space. Tau is also a contributing writer to indieWire's

The Playlist ''The Playlist'' is a British children's entertainment and music series presented by guest presenters, produced by Strawberry Blond TV for CBBC and first aired on 22 April 2017 and ended on 12 March 2022. The first series was narrated by Sco ...

and writes film reviews and news articles for the site. He also conducts Q&A interviews at ''Hyphen'' magazine with leading Asian American writers, film directors, actors, musicians, and artists and has them discuss their latest projects, and is also a contributing writer to

Screen Anarchy ScreenAnarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

(formerly Twitch Film). Tau has also taught an Introduction to Screenwriting & TV Writing course at The Writer's Center, which has been featured on

DCist American news websites Mass media in Washington, D.C. DCist began as a volunteer-run blog focused on Washington, D.C., in the same family of "-ist" websites as Gothamist, LAist, and Chicagoist. A professional editor began steering the publi ...

Film

Short films

Tau has also directed several short films under his production company, Firebrand Hand Creativ

In 2014, Tau was named as one of "6 Young Asian American Filmmakers Who Are Shattering America's Film Bias" by Mic (media company), Mic Magazine. In 2018, a short documentary entitled ''

Nathan Jung Nathan Jung (November 29, 1946 – April 24, 2021) was an American actor and stuntman. Due to his height, he was usually cast in "heavy" or "enforcer" roles. Career Television Jung played the character of Genghis Khan on '' Star Trek: The Origin ...

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

'' written and directed by Tau won Best Original Script and Best Comedy Short Film awards at the Winter 2018 Asians on Film Festival. The film recounts the true story of actor

meeting

for the first time on the set of the TV show, ''

Here Come the Brides ''Here Come the Brides'' is an American comedy Western television series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968, to April 3, 1970. It was loosely based on Asa Mercer's efforts in the 1860s to import m ...

'' in 1969, where Bruce played his first and last purely dramatic and non-martial arts U.S. TV role as Lin Sung in the episode "Marriage, Chinese Style." The film has also been an official selection of the 2018–2019 Asians on Film Festival of Shorts, the 2018 Taiwanese American Film Festival, the 2018 Vancouver Asian Film Festival, and the 2019 Seattle Asian American Film Festival.2019 Seattle Asian American Film Festival, Films, Nathan Jung v. Bruce Lee, https://seattleaaff.org/2019/movies/nathan-jung-v-bruce-lee/? Upon

's passing on April 24, 2021, ''Nathan Jung v. Bruce Lee'' was shared and Jung's death was covered by outlets (with Tau being the source sharing the news) including ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'', '' SyFy Wire'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (UK), ''

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' (UK), ''

News.com.au News.com.au (stylised in all lowercase) is an Australian website owned by News Corp Australia. It had 9.6 million unique readers in April 2019 and covers national and international news, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, technology, finance an ...

'',News.com.au, Star Trek actor Nathan Jung dies aged 74, https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/celebrity-deaths/star-trek-actor-nathan-jung-dies-aged-74/news-story/49c6a57b858c65827b3524607a0361d8 ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'', ''

NY Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in tabloid format, and rea ...

'', '' Heavy.com'', '' Yahoo! Lifestyle'', ''Daily Star Trek News'', ''Comicbook.com'', ''Outsider'', ''AsAm News'', ''iHorror'', ''Giant Freakin Robot'', and others. In 2011–2013, Tau directed, wrote (with Ed Moy) and produced a short film bio-pic about

Keye Luke Keye Luke (; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American actor, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He portrayed Lee Chan, the "Number One Son" in the Charlie Chan films, the original Kato in the 1939–1941 ...

(played by

Feodor Chin Feodor Chin is an American actor, writer, and comedian from San Francisco, California. As an actor, he was classically trained at UCLA, the American Conservatory Theater, and has studied with renowned acting coach, Larry Moss. He was a Maude Nig ...

) entitled ''

'', which premiered at the 2012

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...

. The film was made under a Visual Communications "Armed with a Camera" Fellowship, and highlights

Luke Luke may refer to: People and fictional characters * Luke (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Luke (surname), including a list of people with the name * Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luk ...

's earlier roles as the first Kato in the 1940s

Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of me ...

film serials and the "Number One Son," Lee Chan, in the popular

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan ...

films of the 1930s. The film has also screened at over a dozen film festivals worldwide. The film's composer, George Shaw, won a "Best Original Score" award at the Asians on Film Festival. The film also won an Audience Award at the 2014

HollyShorts Film Festival The HollyShorts Film Festival is an annual Academy Awards-qualifying independent short film festival located in Hollywood, California. History Founded in 2005, the yearly festival programmes feature an eclectic mixture of short films of various ge ...

Monthly Screenings. "The Case

is a genre-hybrid of a short film that melds genres such as Film Noir, Sci-Fi, Horror Camp (in the vein of

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novelist. In the 1950s, Wood directed several B movie, low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult c ...

) and Spaghetti Westerns, and which stars Max Phyo, Cyndee San Luis, Hidekun Hah and Oliver Seitz. It has screened at The

, The

San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) is an annual film festival in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, ...

, The

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Short Film Corner (Court Metrage), and The Capalbio International Short Film Festival in Rome, Italy, founded by

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

. He has written and directed a web series entitled "Quantum Cops

a time and dimension traveling, buddy-cop action/sci-fi-/comedy that he co-created with Joshua Murphy and which stars Kelvin Han Yee,

, Joshua Murphy,

David Huynh David Huynh (born February 5, 1983) is a Canadian actor. Early life Huynh was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, briefly studied at the University of Manitoba focusing on a major in theater and a minor in film studies. Huynh continue ...

, and Ina-Alice Kopp. He has also written and directed a short film entitled "Incentivus" about a Writer (

Archie Kao Archie Kao ( Chinese: 高聖遠) is an American actor and producer. He is best known to American audiences for series regulars roles on '' Chicago P.D.'', '' Power Rangers Lost Galaxy'' as well as long-running hit '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigat ...

) and imagination, hallucinations and dreams. The film stars

Mei Melançon Meiling "Mei" Melançon () (born March 3, 1980) is an American actress, screenwriter and former fashion model. She has appeared in feature films as well as indie productions, television shows, and more than 100 commercials as a model and actre ...

Jessika Van Jessika Van is an American actress. Van is most known for playing "Becca," the ringleader of the Asians or the Asian mafia in Season 2 and Season 3 of MTV's '' Awkward.'' She also played Kim, a Hong Kong Police Officer and sister of Detective Le ...

, and Cyndee San Luis. In 2012, he collaborated with rappers/comedians The Fung Brothers (David and Andrew Fung) and directed, produced and edited a comedy sketch film about Jeremy Lin that The Fung Brothers wrote entitled "The Jeremy Lin Effect 2 (Linsanity)" where an Asian American girl named "Babe" (played by

) only attracted to white men (including her boyfriend, Bret, played by Scott Lilly) is suddenly attracted to Asian American men (including a student named "Jeremy", played by Andrew Fung) after seeing clips of Jeremy Lin play. The video went viral and was mentioned on The Washington Post, the Associated Press and Yahoo! Sports, and on Taiwanese News Channel CTV among other news outlets.

Music videos

In 2011, Tau directed a music video for YouTube Sensation and singer-Songwriter-Actress

Megan Lee Megan Lee (born September 18, 1995) is an American actress, director, and former singer-songwriter best known for her role as "Sun Hi Song" on ''Make It Pop'' and her singing talents on YouTube. Early life and education Lee was born in Los Angel ...

for her second original single, "Destiny." The music video also stars Kelvin Han Yee,

, Yul Spencer and Ina-Alice Kopp. In 2013, Tau directed the Los Angeles segment of a music video for a track from

Dumbfoundead Jonathan Edgar Park (born February 18, 1986), known by his stage name Dumbfoundead (), is an Argentinian-born American rapper and actor. He began his career in the 2000s as a battle rapper in Los Angeles and has since become one of the most pro ...

and Paul Kim entitled "No Turning Back," the song being produced and composed by

CHOPS CHOPS is the stage name of Scott Robert Jung, also known as Scott Chops Jung, an American hip hop producer, rapper and former member of the Asian American Hip-Hop group, the Mountain Brothers. Jung grew up in Philadelphia and has Chinese ances ...

aka Scott "Chops" Jung (formerly of The

Mountain Brothers Mountain Brothers was an American hip hop group originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named after the legend of 108 mountain bandits depicted in the Chinese novel ''Water Margin'', Mountain Brothers are considered cultural pioneers, being ...

) for his EP project, "Strength in Numbers," which compiles tracks from a number of leading Asian American hip hop, rap and R&B artists. In addition to

/Parker and Paul Kim, the music video also starred Jennifer Field and Cindy Bru, and NY-based Director/rap artist JL Jupiter (Jeff Lek) directed the New York segment as well as edited the music video.Young Rae Kim, Dumbfoundead and Paul Kim Back Back Asian American Music Project, KoreAm Journal, http://iamkoream.com/dumbfoundead-and-paul-kim-back-back-asian-american-music-project/

Legal career

Tau, under his full name of Timothy Tau Hsieh, has been a

practicing

patent litigation A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

and

patent prosecution Patent prosecution is the interaction between applicants and a patent office with regard to a patent application or a patent. The prosecution process is broadly divided into two phases: pre-grant and post-grant prosecution. Pre-grant prosecuti ...

at law firms such as

Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm, law and lobbying firm founded in Miami in 1967 by Mel Greenberg, Larry J. Hoffman, and Robert H. Traurig. As of 2025, it is the eighth-largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 49 locati ...

, Foley & Lardner LLP, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Russ August & Kabat and Loza & Loza LLP (where he was a non-equity Partner), and was recognized as a Southern California "Rising Star" by '' Super Lawyers'' magazine in

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

, an honor given to only 2.5% of California attorneys. He was mentored by Alan MacPherson while starting out at the law firm of MacPherson Kwok Chen & Heid LLP, now Haynes & Boone.Tim Hsieh, The Adequacy of The Mark: Raising The Standard Under 35 U.S.C. § 287(a) for Patented Online Software Methods, 48 IDEA 69 (2007), available online at: https://ipmall.law.unh.edu/sites/default/files/hosted_resources/IDEA/idea-vol48-no1-hsiek.pdf He has further served as a federal judicial law clerk for the Honorable Roy S. Payne of the

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to ...

, the Honorable Kandis A. Westmore of the

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, De ...

and as a judicial law fellow or ''pro bono''

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for the Honorable Michael A. Shipp of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Tau has additionally worked as a

patent examiner A patent examiner (or, historically, a patent clerk) is an employee, usually a civil service, civil servant with a scientific or engineering background, working at a patent office. Duties Due to a long-standing and incessantly growing backlog of u ...

at the

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

, where he detailed as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Jameson Lee, the most senior Administrative Patent Judge at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). He was also

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

of the ''

Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society The ''Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed law journal covering intellectual property law. It was established in 1918. History The journal was established as ''Journal of the Patent Office Society'' in ...

'', the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

editor in chief in the journal's

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

-plus history, and moreover was the legislative chair for the

Patent and Trademark Office Society The Patent and Trademark Office Society (PTOS) is an American society of intellectual property professionals. The society publishes a quarterly journal, the '' Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society'' (JPTOS). History Founded in 19 ...

. In the fall of 2021, he joined the faculty of

Oklahoma City University School of Law Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is the law school of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was founded in 1907. OCU Law was located in the Sarkeys Law Center on t ...

as a tenure-track

Assistant Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * ''The Assistant'' (TV seri ...

Professor of Law Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular j ...

, where he teaches, researches and writes scholarship about

Intellectual Property Law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, ...

Patent Law A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

Trademark Law A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a product or service from a particular source and distinguishes it from ot ...

Copyright Law A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, e ...

, Trade Secret Law, Blockchain Law, Internet, Social Media & Computer Law,

Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

Law,

Antitrust Law Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...

Entertainment Law Entertainment law, also known as media law, encompasses legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services often overlap with intellectual property law, which includes key components such as trademarks, copyright, and the right ...

, Law & Technology, Law & Literature/Film, Asian American Legal Studies and Representation in Media, among other topics. In 2024, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Law, served as a judicial law clerk to Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, and obtained a

or LL.B degree from the

. In 2025, Tau became a Visiting Associate Professor at

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

College of Law,Visiting Professors, National Taiwan University College of Law, Timothy Tau Hsieh, https://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/index.php/international-office/visiting-professors/item/3296-timothy-tau-hsieh-%E8%AC%9D%E9%9F%9C a Visiting Research Fellow at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

's Law and Technology InitiativeVisiting Research Fellow, University of Manchester Law and Technology Initiative, https://www.law-tech.manchester.ac.uk/research/visiting-research-fellows/ and a Visiting Scholar at

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

Timothy T. Hsieh, LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/timhsieh_whirlwind-of-a-day-at-meiji-university-getting-activity-7313489959703719937-WYXq/ in Tokyo.

Filmography

Short films

(2018) – writer, director, producer, editor *

(2012) – writer, director, producer, editor *The Jeremy Lin Effect II: Linsanity (2012) – director, producer, editor *Incentivus (2011) – writer, director, producer, editor *Quantum Cops: Law & Chicoban (2011) – writer, director, producer *The Case (2010) – writer, director, producer

Music videos

*No Turning Back – Feat.

, Paul Kim &

(2013) – writer, director, producer *

's Destiny (2011) – writer, director, producer, editor

Bibliography

Short fiction

*"For/Most/Of," published in ''Chrysanthemum: Voices of the Taiwanese Diaspora'', pg. 30 (2018)
"The Understudy"
(2011), ''

'', Winter 2011, pg. 74 **Grand Prize, 2011 ''Hyphen''

Short Story Contest
"Land of Origin"
(2010) **2nd Prize, 2010

College Fiction Contest (listed in the October 2010 issue of ''

'', pg. 47) **2nd Prize, 2015 ScreenCraft Short Story Contest (judged by

winner

) **Finalist, 2018 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society *"One Traveler" (2003) **Gold Key Prize,

(2001–2002) **2nd Prize Samuel C. Irving Prize for American Wit and Humor (2003–2004) **Finalist, 2018 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society

Plays

*Bros/Hos/Foes (2013) – Play, developed for the

Writer's Institute (DHHWI) at

*Yellow Shakespeare (2012) – Play, also developed at the DHHWI

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tau, Timothy Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American short story writers University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni People from Torrance, California Year of birth missing (living people) University of California College of the Law, San Francisco alumni American writers of Chinese descent American film directors of Taiwanese descent Film directors from California Taiwanese film directors American male short story writers American patent attorneys American writers of Taiwanese descent 21st-century American male writers